The Seal of Oblivion by Holly Dae Page A

nodded her
head towards the tea.
    “Okay,” Laqiya said not thinking it
wise to argue. Nana was soft-spoken like Isis but something about her tone left
no room for argument, so when she asked something, it sounded more like a
command. “I will.”
    “Your other friend, she have wind
right?” Nana asked.
    “Who? Adria?”
    “Hm. She
have wind right?”
    “Yes.”
    “She’s very loyal. She admires
you,” Nana said absently.
    Laqiya blinked confused. “Adria?”
    “Trust and loyalty like hers hard
to come by, but easy to break,” Nana replied.
    Laqiya opened and closed her mouth
in effort to say something, something meaningful, but it was hard to do so when
she wasn’t sure what Nana was saying.
    Finally, she asked, “What?”
    What was Nana talking about? She
didn’t understand why she was saying all these things about her friends. She
couldn’t just forget about it though. There had to be something to the woman’s
words.
    “Keep friends close and enemies
closer. Your friends your greatest opponents. Remember
that.”
    At this point, Laqiya was
completely dumbfounded. Her friends were her enemies?
    “What does all this mean?”
    Nana smiled. “You listen good , yes?”
    “I guess…”
    “Then you listen. Cousin more tuned
with powers than you. Cousin sense danger, you take heed warning.   Found staff yet?”
    “One piece but not—Wait a minute.
How do you know all this?”
    “Told you, when want to do
something or know powers come without thinking. Now not get excited. Drink tea.
Keep calm. Get excited, you not listen properly.” Nana nodded.
    “Sorry,”
    “No apologies needed child.”
    Nana paused and looked Laqiya in
the eye. “Now, when find last piece, careful you must be. Stay calm you must.
You get piece before Lady Sahajah do,” Nana said nodding her head. “She get
piece, she shatter the seal of oblivion. That be a sad
day on earth.”
    “O… kay,” Laqiya responded. They
hadn’t even found the second piece yet.
    “Now, you The White Rose ? Hai?”
    “I’m trying not to be. But
Nightshield insists on proving otherwise.”
    “Denial?”
    “No. I don’t want—”
    Nana cut Laqiya off. “You doubt
it.”
    “Definitely.”
    “What more proof you need?” Nana
asked, stirring her tea with her powers again and looked intently into the
swirling liquid until she looked back up at Laqiya.
    Instead of answering the woman,
Laqiya silently wondered if she was indeed Sakura’s grandmother. Sakura was so…
outgoing and sassy when she wanted to be, but this woman in front of her was so
refined.
    “Cherry Blossom grow into that when she older, more learned, patient and listen. Right now you not
worry about that. I tell you something, hai?”
    Laqiya nodded.
    “You can’t deny truth for long. It slap you in the face. And you can doubt truth and truth
still slap you in face. The truth always exist whether you want see it or not.
Have faith. No faith, powers not help with or without staff and someone else
come do the job,” Nana explained
    “Wait? Someone else can do the
job?”
    “Surely you not do this someone
else come, and they will. You not
irreplaceable.”
    “That’s great. Perfect
in fact. I’ll find someone else who can do the job,” Laqiya said. That
would show Nightshield.
    “But you the best
candidate. You have the heart of a warrior. You were chosen before you
were born.”
    It made Laqiya go back to the
question she asked Nightshield about her past self, about whether she had seen
her coming and made it Laqiya’s destiny.
    “Where are you going with all
this?” Laqiya asked. She didn’t need to get into another discussion about
destiny.
    “You just listen. I see. I know.
Need guidance you do. See further down the line. I
help prepare you.”
    “Prepare me for what?”
    “To give your
life for this cause.”
    “You mean I’ll have to die?” Laqiya
asked alarmed.
    “Not way you think. You understand
down line. You make it through. Not worry. You be